Panic As Lassa Fever Returns In Port Harcourt

Rivers state was on Wednesday thrown into panic as rumours gave way to the confirmation of a case of the deadly lassa fever disease in the state by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Theophilus Odagme.

The commissioner, in a press briefing in Port Harcourt, disclosed that the state Ministry of Health has recorded a case of Lassa fever in an undisclosed private hospital in the state but has swung into action to halt the spread of the disease. The commissioner stated that due to the rapid response of the Ministry of Health, the affected patient was immediately isolated, treated, and discharged while the case was being professionally followed up.

Odagme told journalists that the state Ministry of Health was collaborating with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the private hospital, and the family of the patient to ensure that the process of decontamination of contacts was effectively handled to ensure that the situation was arrested.